Cocktails with Cloves
Cloves are the dried, unopened flower buds of the Syzygium aromaticum tree, used whole or ground as a warm aromatic spice.
Taste profile
Intensely warm and pungent, with a sweet-woody depth and a numbing, almost medicinal sharpness driven by eugenol.
How it's used
Studded into citrus or simmered in a syrup or hot mix, whole cloves release aroma slowly and are removed before serving; a light hand is essential, as the spice overwhelms quickly.
Substitutes for Cloves
Allspice offers a comparable warm, sweet-pungent note in smaller measure.
Description
Growers harvest the buds before they open and dry them until hard and dark brown, leaving a nail-shaped bud with a rounded head. They are sold whole or ground to a fine powder.
